Cruz rejects Trump's support for Muslim registries

SIOUX CITY, Iowa — Ted Cruz on Friday disavowed Donald Trump's support for requiring American Muslims register as such, a rare public break with the current GOP frontrunner.

"I'm a big fan of Donald Trump's but I'm not a fan of government registries of American citizens," he told reporters of a plan Trump said he backed a day earlier. "The First Amendment protects religious liberty, I've spent the past several decades defending religious liberty."

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Cruz, like Trump, is running for president but has so far been particularly careful to avoid publicly criticizing the bombastic Trump's candidacy, acknowledging that eventually he'd like to be the first choice of all voters, including those currently backing Trump.

Cruz, talking to reporters before appearing at a campaign event with Rep. Steve King, went on to call on the government to instead tackle "radical Islamic" terrorism.